BTW - those little Smart cars? Are *everywhere*. Ditto small hybrids, subcompacts, the occasional electric (which are smaller than the Smarts, and I wish I'd had video when a tall man tried to fold himself into one), motorscooters, and bicycles. I think I've seen *three* SUVS or vans that were not delivery vans this week. Part of it is that Florence is a very walkable city, part that they have extensive bus service, and partly it's that the streets are simply too narrow for large American-style cars. My Civic is on the large size. They also have a lot of Zip car spaces.
This is why the air is breathable (I haven't had any sinus attacks this week). They're also decent about recycling, from what I here, although supposedly the place where they're most serious is up in Milan and the industrial areas.
As for the garbage 'strike'in Naples: it's not really a strike. They've run out of room in the landfills and are trying to force recycling on the citizens. Being Neapolitans, they've responded by flipping the bird to the civic authorities. Florentines are much more civilized from what I've seen, even if Il Gatto di Palazzo Pitti did attempt to become my fourth cat by crawling into my bag....
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Date: 2008-01-18 08:36 am (UTC)From:BTW - those little Smart cars? Are *everywhere*. Ditto small hybrids, subcompacts, the occasional electric (which are smaller than the Smarts, and I wish I'd had video when a tall man tried to fold himself into one), motorscooters, and bicycles. I think I've seen *three* SUVS or vans that were not delivery vans this week. Part of it is that Florence is a very walkable city, part that they have extensive bus service, and partly it's that the streets are simply too narrow for large American-style cars. My Civic is on the large size. They also have a lot of Zip car spaces.
This is why the air is breathable (I haven't had any sinus attacks this week). They're also decent about recycling, from what I here, although supposedly the place where they're most serious is up in Milan and the industrial areas.
As for the garbage 'strike'in Naples: it's not really a strike. They've run out of room in the landfills and are trying to force recycling on the citizens. Being Neapolitans, they've responded by flipping the bird to the civic authorities. Florentines are much more civilized from what I've seen, even if Il Gatto di Palazzo Pitti did attempt to become my fourth cat by crawling into my bag....